SPM News

Woodbury County was declared a Federal Disaster Area after flooding in March. FEMA showed up in the aftermath to assist with homeowners and businesses. One person in the forefront of that effort shared her story with Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer. Flooding dominated the news headlines in Siouxland this year. “Federal officials are setting up shop in town to provide help those in need.” FEMA, along with spokesperson Rossyveth Rey-Berrios, arrived on the scene. They will need some

The Air National Guard 185 th Refueling Wing based in Sioux City recently provided medical care to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot serves as a Public Affairs Superintendent. He traveled to Puerto Rico to document the mission. “We started at the end of April, home by the 8 th of May. It involved teams primarily from the medical clinic. Same branch of service but it was the active-duty reserve components and all branches of service. It was the eye and dental

One person has been killed and another injured by what may have been a tornado that damaged a farm in Adair County in Iowa. First responders found the body of 74-year-old Linda Brownlee early this morning just outside of Adair. Her husband was flown to a Des Moines hospital for treatment. Debris from the farm landed on nearby Interstate 80. The National Weather Service is sending an assessment team to determine whether a tornado was involved. The Brownlee home sits atop a hill, so authorities

052119 532 Former Maryland Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney is on a swing through Iowa this week. Today (Tuesday/yesterday), he toured a home in the Pacific Junction area in southwest Iowa that was damaged by historic flooding in March. Delaney says climate change will make flooding more frequent and more severe. He believes climate change will leave future generations with an unpayable debt. ((0521delaney 0:12) The fact that we haven’t dealt with it, the fact that

052119 504 Abortion rights supporters rallied at the Iowa Capitol today (Tuesday) as part of a nationwide protest against new abortion restrictions in other states. Iowa abortion rights advocates say new abortion laws in states like Alabama and Kentucky are an attack on everyone in the United States who can get pregnant. Sarena Ramirez of Des Moines agrees. 0521ramirez: 10 “All women are threatened by that. In other countries, they have these laws, and women die because they can’t do what is

052119 432 A Sioux City man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the fire-related death of a woman last year. The Sioux City Journal reports that 52-year-old Robert Mahoney was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years for first-degree arson and five years for involuntary manslaughter, with the sentences to be served one after the other. A jury convicted Mahoney in March for the death of 51-year-old Wanda Blake. Blake died three weeks after Mahoney torched his Sioux City apartment on Feb. 4, 2018.

052119 404 Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Paul Trombino to temporarily lead Iowa's human resources agency after its previous director failed to win Senate confirmation. Reynolds spokesman Pat Garrett said Tuesday that the governor has installed Trombino as interim director of the Department of Administrative Services while she recruits a permanent replacement. The move comes after the Iowa Senate adjourned last month without confirming Janet Phipps Burkhead to another term as the agency's

052019 532 State incentives could create 32 new jobs in Mason City and construction of a new plant to replace plants destroyed by a July 19th tornado near Pella. State documents say the incentives will help Vermeer Corporation retain 406 employees who were displaced after the tornado." The Iowa Economic Development Authority OK'd $6 million Friday for the industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturer, which is rebuilding its campus. Most state economic development programs provide

052019 504 The federal government could decide this week whether to finalize plans to build a new riverside courthouse in Des Moines, but the 137-million-dollar project continues to face local opposition. The General Services Administration wants to put the new building on the former site of the downtown YMCA. Art Slusark (SLOO-zark), the chief communications officer for Meredith publishing, says putting a government building there would be a missed opportunity for economic development.

052019 432 Republican Senator Joni Ernst says President Trump has taken the right approach in trade talks with China. Ernst and Trump spoke by phone shortly after Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports. Speaking to Radio Iowa, Ernst said after many months of negotiations, it’s time for a deal that will address China’s theft of intellectual property and other bad trade practices. On another trade-related issue, Ernst is predicting the “U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement” will easily